Spotlight: Raising Impact

The Association of Fundraising Professionals

By William Bradford Nichols

Most people enjoy giving. Especially when they know their gifts, be they monetary or otherwise, are having an impact on the world around them. Yet, this begs the question, how do they get those gifts to the desired recipients? Who are the people that ensure philanthropists are having the impact they desired? 

To understand how non-profit organizations (NPOs) work, how they can change the world, and how they can ensure that the philanthropists’ giving is being used in ethical ways, there may be no better person to talk to than Janet Ginn. Ginn is the president of the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, or AFP, and the president of the Pines of Sarasota Foundation. Both of which are NPOs and both of which are engaged in making the world a better place, though in different ways. 

Ginn says she has raised more than a billion dollars over the course of her career, and credits it all to the AFP. This membership association has the stated goal of advancing philanthropy through education, training, and advocacy. Their training is based on research, a code of ethical principles, and industry standards of professional practice. 

Since its inception in 1960, AFP has raised over one trillion dollars. AFP’s 32,000 individuals and organizational members raise over $100 billion annually–the equivalent of one-third of all charitable giving in North America, and millions more around the world. The local Southwest Florida chapter has been recognized as a “Ten Star Chapter” for its programming, which includes monthly meetings, mentoring, workshops, seminars, webinars, and the Certified Fundraising Executive program or CRFE for short. All of these programs are geared towards creating knowledgeable and ethical fundraisers. 

The monthly meetings usually consist of special speakers teaching on various topics related to fundraising and philanthropy. They cover a vast range of topics—everything from how to plan events or how to make sure donors are filing their taxes properly to what a fundraiser should do if they think something unethical is occurring. For Ginn, the donors are the most important part of philanthropy since they are the ones who make philanthropy possible. As the president of the Southwest Florida chapter, Ginn believes a fundraiser’s goal is to help people discern how they want to use their money. It is not merely a matter of giving, it is a matter of making sure the giving has the most impact possible, and that it aligns with the donors’ passions. 

Additional professional development includes AFP’s mentorships and CFRE training and testing. Mentorships are designed for the person who has been fundraising for a year or two and would benefit from working with someone like Ginn who has been fundraising for years. With monthly meetings, mentors  help the mentees create strategic plans and develop policies and procedures that will work best for the fundraiser’s organization. 

The crown jewel of AFP’s programming is the CFRE. “CFREs are people who have studied industry and ethical standards and taken an exam about those standards,” says Ginn. “CFRE is a certification, not a certificate.” Those who go through the training must pass an intensive exam to earn certification. At AFP, fundraisers are trained and given the knowledge base to pass that exam, and supported with study groups. Ginn considers AFP to be the training arm of philanthropy and their trained fundraisers to be the trustees of philanthropy. Ginn believes that since the donors are people trying to make a difference in their communities, their country, and the world, then they deserve nothing less than the best that their fundraisers can give them. “We’re not here to sell people anything,” Ginn says. “We are here to help them discern what they want to give to.”

Fundraising colleagues within AFP support one another. Ginn says, “We’re not in competition with each other, we’re in coordination with each other.” For example, a donor may come to the Pines of Sarasota Foundation and want to fund a ballet class. Well, since ballet classes may not be appropriate for the residents at Pines of Sarasota, Ginn would direct them to a different organization—most likely to The Sarasota Ballet, which does provide classes for adults. This is how the members of AFP ensure that the appropriate donation goes to the appropriate organization and enable the donor to have the most impact.  

Ginn herself is a CFRE and has been for almost twenty years. Ginn credits CFRE and AFP with her successful career. And she’s not the only one. Ginn tells the story of another young fundraiser who was very good at her job, but her career was suffering due to a lack of experience. Ginn encouraged her to study and test for the CFRE. Within three years of passing the CFRE, this individual went from Vice President of Development to CEO of the entire organization. “Because she knew the industry and ethical standards of fundraising, she was able to present and explain them with confidence and competence to her board,” explains Ginn. “So, when the CEO left, the board trusted her knowledge.” 

In addition, Ginn prides herself on AFP’s work in diversity inclusion. In a statement on the Southwest Florida AFP website, Ginn writes that their chapter operates under: 

…an inclusive concept encompassing, without limitation, race, color, ethnicity, culture, nationality, gender identity, sexual orientation, or identity on the LGBTQ+ spectrum, religion or lack thereof, age, economic class, educational level, rural or urban location (geography), language, immigration status, physical mobility and ability, and marital and parental status. 

Philanthropy by its very nature, Ginn believes, is all encompassing, because need has no boundaries and neither does good will. Philanthropy is about more than just giving, it is about changing. Changing the world and changing ourselves. “You can come into AFP hoping to further your career,” Ginn says, “but you will come out not only a better fundraiser, you will come out a better person.”  In that regard, she believes that philanthropy itself makes all who participate better humans. It is not just a way for people to impact communities, it is a way for people to impact themselves. AFP exists to make sure that impact reaches as far and wide as possible, and they do that by training fundraisers to match the right person with the right organization.

The monthly meetings and many of AFP’s events are open to all. Due to COVID-19, monthly meetings are currently online and absolutely free. Find more information at the Southwest Florida AFP website.